Below is my response to this week’s flash-fiction challenge from Chuck Wendig– 1000 words on the subject of real estate, of all things. And for some twisted reason, this one slotted right in behind the piece I wrote last week— same universe, same space opera sensibility. Only…I think this one is all too likely, if we ever do create an interstellar society. Which makes me kinda queasy when I think about it….

Copyright 2018 Douglas Daniel

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The sun sparkled beautifully off the waters of the bay. Juarez took in the vista, with purple headlands shadowing the horizon across the water, and boats, pleasure craft and working vessels, dotting the blue of the water. The sun was warm, but the breeze off the bay was cool and refreshing after days in a ship getting here.

“And this is the result of, what?” he asked Harkess. “Two hundred years of terraforming?”

“To bring it to its current state of perfection, yes,” Harkess said. “But Pequod was comfortably inhabitable within thirty years of our first landings. And many of the prospects in our portfolio would require even less work than that– in fact, some are step off the ship, plant a seed, and you’re done.”

“Doubtless those go for a higher premium,” Juarez said.

Harkess conceded the point with a nod. “Of course, as with any other piece of real estate, the asking price of any of our worlds is predicated on ‘move-in readiness’, among many other factors.” He smiled. “To be honest, it is a balancing act most investors have to make. Savings in initial costs for a less human-friendly world will usually be invested in the subsequent terraforming as a matter-of-course.”

“Yes,” Juarez said, “The investors I represent have been studying the market for some time. They understand the basic points of planetary investment.” He shifted in his seat. “But as a middle-rank association, we must be careful where we finally decide to put our money. We’re not a conglomerate; still less are we Shareholders. One false step and we could all be penniless.”

“Of course,” Harkess said. “And Advanced System Opportunities has assisted many groups in your situation, Citizen Juarez. The New Way Chosen, for instance, came to us when they wanted to find a world for themselves. So did the Purified. We have a great deal of experience helping investors of modest means become Proprietors on their own planet.”

A servant came out on to the terrace, bearing a tray with a bottle of wine and two glasses. He placed the tray on the table between the two men, poured wine into the glasses, bowed and left. Juarez thought the man bore unmistakable signs of being a mod, but said nothing.

Juarez lifted the glass, inhaled the bouquet, and then took a respectful sip. “A local vintage?”

“Yes,” Harkess said. “We’re quite proud of it.”

“It is truly excellent.” Juarez took another sip. “I understand that ASO has a relationship with the Voronovs.”

Harkess nodded. “Quite a long and fruitful one, to be honest. Historically, and in the present, they have been a tremendous help. And, of course, we keep all our licensures and permits with the Consortium itself in order.” He paused. “May I ask what your investors’ intentions might be?”

Juarez looked at Harkess over the rim of his glass. “My investors are committed to making whatever world we chose into a place fit for extensive human habitation– but precisely because our resources are not unlimited, we need to see some early profits. To help us bear the cost of development.”

“Naturally,” Harkess said. “That would mean some easily exploited mineral assets, or some of the higher yield cash crops, such as coca or makatinte. Considering the resources of your group, I would assume that we are not talking about mining gas giants or any other such larger scale operations.”

“No, you’re quite correct,” Juarez said.

“Yes– I think you will find, citizen, that we have several opportunities in our portfolio right now that might meet your specifications.” Harkess smiled. “And if not, well, there’s hardly a week that passes without one of our survey ships jumping far beyond the Perimeter, discovering new worlds. I am sure we will be able to find something that will please your investors.”

“That’s all very well and good, Citizen Harkess,” Juarez said, hesitating, “but I’m afraid I must ask about… infestations.”

“Ah,” Harkess said. “You needn’t trouble yourself, Citizen Juarez. ASO has extensive experience handling infestations. In the five hundred standard years we have been in business, we have dealt with more than one hundred.” He smiled. “In my operations days, I handled five myself.”

“Really?” Juarez said. “Are they…difficult?”

“Generally, speaking, no,” Harkess said. “Every world has its particular vulnerabilities. Our techs and operations people are quite skilled at crafting solutions peculiar to each situation, one that is guaranteed to do no permanent harm to the planetary biosphere. Naturally, we don’t beat our own drum about it, but we’ve never had a failure, nor a complaint.”

“I see,” Juarez said. “Unfortunately, that’s not quite what I was asking. Do you ever…face opposition?”

“Ah– no, we never have. None of the species we’ve confronted have ever had a technology more sophisticated than bronze axes. Primitives like that are quite easy to deal with– one tailored bio-plague, a couple of neutron weapons, and it’s generally over before they know it’s begun.”

“What about the Hegeri?” Juarez asked.

Harkess’ studied, pleasant facade seemed to harden, just a little. “The Hegeri…the Hegeri are a unique case. They were taught their technology by a human renegade. It is not…native to their culture.” He smiled again. “Besides, they are on the other side of the Volume. The Consortium fleet has them well in hand. Nothing to concern us.”

“Well, that reassures me,” Juarez said.

“As it should, citizen,” Harkess said, beaming now. “Besides, if it should turn out the planet you choose does have an infestation, it’s always possible that they will leave some picturesque ruins. We’ve found that sort of thing is generally a boon to the tourist trade on any given world.”

Now Juarez smiled. “Citizen Harkess,” he said, lifting his glass, “I think your firm and my investors are going to have a very profitable relationship.”

My response to a flash-fiction challenge from Chuck Wendig, to write 1500 words of space opera in honor of May the Fourth. It so happens I love space opera, although I’ve seen very few good examples of the genre lately (I have been dodging The Last Jedi like a healthy man dodges plague victims). My little piece below is based on an (as yet) unpublished space opera universe I’ve had rolling around in my head for decades. If I ever get the Divine Lotus series finished (and that is a long, sad tale) I might just turn to the universe of the Consortium, Shareholders, and the Perimeter.

Copyright 2018 Douglas Daniel

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“Damn Shareholder,” Rong muttered. He leaned against a tree trunk and wiped sweat from his face.

“Shut your mouth,” Teal told him. He was drenched in sweat, as well; this world reminded him strongly of Novo Brasil. “He hired us, he gets to set the agenda.”

“Indeed, Citizen Xiang,” the Shareholder said, from twenty meters away. He spoke without turning around or looking up from the ruined wall he was examining with a sensordoc. “I beg your patience—this will not take long.”

Maria appeared over the rise beyond the wall, pushing aside vines and creepers. “Shareholder Mann, there’s more ruins on the other side.”

“No matter,” Mann said. He snapped the sensordoc shut. “I’m picking up no ipinsotic traces at all. Nothing. This location’s a waste of time.”

Teal resisted the urge to calculate the cost of the fuel they had burned getting here. “Your orders, sir?”

“We go on to Mackason IV,” Mann said at once, with asperity. “The reports can’t all be wrong.” He seemed as if he were about to say more, but he stopped himself. “I want to lift as quickly as possible.”

“We’ll be in the air five minutes after we close the hatches, Shareholder,” Teal said.

It wasn’t until they were well on trajectory for the jump radius that Mann sought Teal out. They were alone in the Pleasant Virgin’s cockpit, with holographic readouts flickering around them. Mann settled himself into the chair at the astrogator’s station and regarded Teal. “All in order, Captain Xiang?” he said.

“Good,” Mann said. His regard of Teal sharpened. “But not all of your crew appear to be happy.”

“Well, Shareholder,” Teal said, “with all due respect, I’m afraid there’s not much I can do about human nature. We’ve hit eighteen worlds in fifteen systems in the last month, and so far every one of them has been a dry hole. For whatever it is you’re looking for. Frustration’s bound to show itself in this sort of situation.”

Mann said nothing for a moment. “You knew that the exact nature of this mission would remain confidential, captain.”

“Indeed, Shareholder, it was made very clear to me,” Teal said.

“And we Purcells hired you and your crew precisely because you have a reputation for keeping secrets.”

“It’s a point of pride with us,” Teal said.

“Well, then, captain, I would appreciate it if you had a word with your people,” Mann said. “The House of Purcell needs your discretion, and your very fast ship, to complete a task of some urgency. To help us complete that task, we are paying you a handsome sum. Surely enough to quell any ennui you and your people may feel.”

“That may be,” Teal said. He enjoyed her touch; their lovemaking always put him into drowsy contentment. “But he is paying the bills, and without this job we might be scratching for a commission. Things are hard at the moment.”

“In this quadrant,” Maria said. “T’other side of the Volume, there’s plenty of opportunities.”

“I’ve heard it all already, pretty puss,” Teal said. “And maybe once our coffers are full, we’ll head that way. But we have to finish this job first.”

Maria raised herself up on her hands, looked down on Teal. “D’you have any idea what he’s looking for?”

“No,” Teal said, fim, “and I don’t want to know. It is not our business. We were hired to haul him about and keep our mouths shut. As long as I’m captain, that’s what we’ll do.”

Maria stared at him, solemn. “So be it, then,” she said.

Mackason IV, from a descent trajectory, looked much like many another Earth-type world—ocean blues overlayed with white clouds, green-brown landmasses here and there. A cyclonic storm occupied a quadrant of the main ocean, but it was too far away to affect their chosen landing site. Teal took the Virgin in fast, not caring if they left a prominent re-entry trail.

They landed on a rocky plain, in a level area between jagged hills. Even coming in they could see the ruins that covered the land between the high ground; as they landed Teal saw broad roads and the bases of broken towers. Mann, leaning over his shoulder to stare at the displays, gave off a palpable air of excitement. “This is more extensive than anything I have ever seen before,” he said, transfixed.

They all hit dirt, Rong, Maria, Chris, Mann and Teal. Mann had his sensordoc out at once. Even from several feet away, Teal could tell the readout was exploding with data.

“This is incredible!” Mann exclaimed. “The readings are off the scale! This is what we’ve been looking for!”

“Rong, Maria, fetch the containment vessel,” Teal said. The two of them hurried back into the ship.

Mann led Chris and Teal through a broken archway, and down a flight of steps. At the bottom was a sort of small amphitheater; scattered in the dust that coated the amphitheater’s floor were scattered lumps and shapes, most of which were hard to make out.

At the foot of one pillar, however, something glowed ochre. Mann approached it; it glowed more brightly, while the sensordoc’s readout became even more fevered.

The warning came too late. Chris touch the device. There was a flash of light, and then a scream. Teal, squinting past a hand raised against the light, glimpsed Chris afire, screaming. In the next instant, the femman was simply gone.

“The fool!” Mann cried. “The utter fool!”

They got the device in the containment vessel using hand-grav tools. They sealed the vessel; then, with a smug Mann leading the way, they secured it in the Virgin’s front cargo bay. “We are all rich now,” Mann told them.

They lifted ship at once, with Mann in the crew mess preparing a report to his superiors. Teal was happy to retreat to the cockpit to put the Virgin on a trajectory for the jump radius. He still didn’t know what they had found, and he wanted to know even less than before.

He had just finished setting the jump coordinates when he heard a muffled thump. The sound was strange to him. Then the security display popped up a flashing alert, weapon discharge- crew mess.

“What the hell?” Teal said. He climbed over the seats and slid down the ladder to the crew level.

He burst into the mess and was confronted by a scene of blood. Mann lay on his back on the middle deck, his eyes staring sightlessly at the overhead. Rong stood over him, a slug-thrower in his hand.

“Had to do it!” he yelled at Teal. “The Sheffields– they’re offering a million! A whole million! The Purcells are nothing compared to the Sheffields.”

Teal yelled in rage and threw himself at Rong. The man had no time to bring his weapon to bear on Teal before the captain was on him. He fired another shot, but it missed Teal and caroomed off one of the bulkheads.

Old training kicked in for Teal; without thinking he batted the gun out of Rong’s hand, then drove punches into the man that first stole his wind, and then his life. Rong’s body fell over Mann’s and lay still.

Teal, panting, sensed rather than saw Maria in the mess’ open hatch. “He’s ruined us!” he said, his hands clenched in unspent fury. “Ruined us!”

Something slammed into Teal. It threw him into the bulkhead. He slid down, slumped against the compartment wall. He couldn’t move; the stink of burnt flesh rose up into his nostrils.

“What…?” he gasped.

Maria came amd loomed over him, the quantifier in her hands crackling with residual heat. “The Sheffields– what a joke. The Voronovs will pay far more. And it will all be mine.” Maria lifted the quantifier.

Maria reset the jump destination. It would take a week to reach the Voronov base where she was to meet her contact– a long ride in an empty ship. To top it off, she found she was actually sorry that Teal would not have understood why she had to do this. It would have been better with the two of them.

However, three million Consortiums bought a lot of consolation.

Maria sat back in the command chair, contemplating her future. She smiled. It was indeed time to examine opportunities on the far side of the Volume.

Well, I took a look at the challenge and thunk real hard, and…went in completely different direction. If this story puzzles anyone, I would ask them to not consider the modern English usage of the word “apocalypse”, but what the word actually means in Greek. The story’s inadequacies as a story, of course, have nothing to do with etymology.

Copyright 2017 Douglas Daniel

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“Tell her,” Timon said. He stood close to Aldan, speaking for his ears only.

“No,” Aldan said, speaking just as low.

It was probably an unnecessary precaution; it was unlikely that either of their voices could be heard over the music and the happy cries of the dancers. One hundred men and women matched steps in the middle of the hall. A hundred more urged them on from the sides, or gabbled among themselves beside tables heavy with food and drink. Timon and Aldan were alone in the crowd, far off in a corner behind pillars, and very nearly out of sight of the newlyweds, who sat atop the dais at the far end of the room. Aldan dared glance that direction. Ranald lolled in the groom’s seat, smiling broadly and toasting the dancers. Rebekah sat beside him the bride’s seat, her spray of flowers in her lap, quietly smiling.

“What is that?” Aldan said. “Nothing. With this marriage we all buy peace among ourselves. Whatever I feel is nothing in comparison.”

“But, Aldan, your happiness….”

“Stop whispering in my ear,” Aldan told him. “It will do no good.”

He stepped away, leaving Timon glowering among the pillars. Aldan moved through the crowd carefully; he was not dressed in festive garb, but in traveling clothes, with his sword buckled on. His mission started as soon as he could pledge his loyalty to his new lord. Horses and the men detailed to follow him were waiting on the ceremony; all Aldan could do was make sure they were fed and out of the rain.

He went to the nearest table. The delicacies here would not sustain him on the ride he had ahead of him; but he had to eat or drink something, out of courtesy. This was not the time or place to give offense.

He found a plate of dove’s eggs in spiced butter, and ate them slowly as he walked to the other side of the room. He garnered stares as he did; some of the guests obviously wondered if he were a vagabond who had somehow gotten in past the guards. Others just as obviously wondered how someone so homely could have been invited to the nuptials of the high warlord of Telania and the fairest daughter of the old Houses.

He finished the eggs, and found a place for the plate in a niche in the far wall. It was an old icon shrine, now empty, and Aldan reflected that it was possible no servant would find the plate for twenty or thirty years. He wondered why that amused him.

“Still causing trouble, I see,” someone said from behind him.

Aldan turned. Scholar Harald approached; his old tutor was unchanged, save for more lines in his face. Aldan bowed. “It’s just they never have anywhere you can put the dishes,” he said.

“Ah—then we can blame the host,” Harald said. “As we can blame him for so many things.”

“Teacher,” Aldan said, warningly, “you should guard your lips.”

“Perhaps,” Harald said. “Perhaps I’m an old man who doesn’t care who knows what he thinks of our new overlord.”

“If nothing else, restrain yourself for my sake,” Aldan said. “It would grieve me to see your head displayed on the Traitor’s Walk.”

“Bah,” Harald said, waving his hand in that manner that told Aldan his teacher considered the matter unworthy of discussion. “It is needful for someone to bear witness to what we are giving up.”

“A generation of civil war?” Aldan suggested.

“Our ancient liberties,” Harald said.

“There will be time for that later,” Aldan said, growing worried. “First we have to defeat the Galocina.”

“Some would say the Galocina are a convenient distraction….” Harald said.

“Teacher, please,” Aldan pleaded.

“All right– I will be quiet, for your sake,” Harald said. He smiled. “It is too bad you never spoke up.”

“Spoke up?” Aldan said.

“To Rebekah,” Harald said. “If she were married now, the Warlord would have had to find some other woman of the Old Houses to wed—although I doubt he could have found anyone else as highly placed.”

Aldan shook his head. “You are dreaming, Teacher. Rebekah hardly knows my name. And her house would have hardly consented to wedding her to a mere soldier…especially one as homely as I am.”

“You have other qualities,” Harald said.

“None that could overcome the plain terror of my face,” Aldan said. “Forgive me, Teacher, but I need some air.”

He bowed to Harald, and stepped out on one of the western balconies. The balcony was covered, so he was not instantly soaked, but out in the dark the rain came down in a steady deluge. The sound of it actually matched the muffled sound of the celebration within. Soon enough he would be out in it; there was no delaying his mission for mere weather.

Weddings, though….

“What a night,” a voice said. “I am so sorry you’re going to have to ride through all that.”

Aldan turned. His mother came through the open doors on to the balcony. Her shrewd eyes examined him, as if looking to make sure his clothes were on straight and he combed his hair. Her smile, though, was indulgent and proud.

“The fate of a soldier,” Aldan said. “You get used to it.”

She came near. Aldan bowed to her, then hugged her close. “Well, thank the gods I’m not a soldier,” his mother said. “I’d hate to get used to this.” She stepped back, examining his face. “Exactly why are you still here, though?”

“Waiting on the ceremony,” Aldan said. “I must place my hands between the Warlord’s, and bid the couple farewell.”

“Oh, that,” his mother said. “Archaic claptrap.” She looked up and seemed to search Aldan’s face. “It won’t be easy for you, son. I am sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

“Having to farewell the woman you love as she is given to another,” his mother said.

Aldan sighed. “Everyone seems to be talking about impossibilities tonight. To Rebekah I am hardly more than dust; and my countenance….”

“Merely provides a covering for singular virtues,” his mother said. “Well, perhaps it is best you are leaving for the frontier.” She laid a hand to his cheek. “But I still claim a mother’s right to want my children to be happy.”

“Happy…is something I stopped worrying about many years ago, mother,” Aldan said.

Soon after they called for the pledging, and Aldan went in. There were a few courtiers ahead of him, so he had few minutes to wait and fidget and feel the eyes of the guests upon him. He was used to stares, usually. For the most part. Being the object of quite so much gawking at the same time was, he had to admit, a little unnerving.

Then it was his turn. He went forward, ascended the dais, and knelt before Ranald. He placed his hands between those of the Warlord. “My lord,” Aldan said, “I pledge my loyalty and service, my labor and my life. I pledge this to you and to the realm, in peace and in war.”

Ranald smiled down at him. “Ah,” the Warlord said, loud enough for all in the hall to hear. “We are pleased to receive the service of a soldier so brave and skilled. A little cheated, perhaps, in terms of beauty, but then, you’re not going out to make love to the Galocina, are you?”

Titters from the crowd; Aldan managed to smile. “No, my lord.”

He stood and stepped over to Rebekah, as the next courtier ascended the dais toward Ranald. Aldan knelt down before her. “Lady,” he said, “may the gods bless your union and sustain the peace it brings.”

“Aldan,” Rebekah said. She said it so softly that Aldan barely heard her, although he was only a foot or two in front of her.

He looked up. Rebekah stared down at him; her eyes searched his face. “Are you…well?” she asked him.

“W-well enough, lady,” Aldan stammered. He was suddenly swimming in her eyes.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry you have to go away,” she said. “So far away…I want you to be careful, Aldan Osteran. Please, please be very careful.”

“I will, Lady,” Aldan said.

“I will pray for you constantly,” Rebekah said. She seemed to want to say something more, her eyes still fixed on his, but the next courtier was done with his pledge, so Aldan had to stand and turn away from Rebekah’s avid gaze, and descend the dais. He walked out of the hall, straight-backed, despite the way his legs threatened to buckle under the weight of revelation.

The son came up from the basement with his backpack. “So, Ms. T-Rex is a senior,” he snided. “The only good thing is that you’ll be gone by the time I’m a freshman.”

“Lucky for you, you little genetic deviation,” the daughter said.

“I pity the kids who do have to suffer under your reign of terror,” the son said. He headed for the door. “Try not to let the power go to your head.”

The traffic was heavy around the high school. “Take the back way, Daddy,” the daughter said, as she ratcheted her hair taut.

The father maneuvered around the curve of the passenger loading lane, stopped. “I’m going over to Bethany’s after school,” the daughter announced, as she opened her door.

The father handed her her backpack, but held on to it for a second as she tried to take it. “Just remember,” he said, when she gave him a questioning look. “With great power come great responsibility.”

“Daaaddy,” the daughter said, rolling her eyes again. She took the backpack and slammed the door.

He watched her walk away. Seventeen years before he had carried a tiny baby up to the neonatal unit, frightened in a way he had never been frightened before. He wished he could tell his younger self how well everything had worked out. But then, that would have spoiled the surprise.

1. Wake up at an unnecessarily early hour.
2. Get up about an hour later.
3. Look at emails, hoping for a job offer.
4. Take daughter to school. Don’t get out of the car, because you’re still in your pajamas.
5. Get dressed.
6. Walk two miles to Safeway to buy a bear-claw.
7. Walk home.
8. Shower.
9. Look at emails, hoping for a job offer.
10. Sit down to edit current novel-in-progress.
11. Fall asleep over current novel-in-progress.
12. Wake up.
13. Look at emails, hoping for a job offer.
14. Eat lunch.
15. Check state job boards, Monster, Linked-in, Indeed.com, Dice, Ziprecruiter, Siemens, Volt, Kforce, and about a dozen other job sites.
16. Submit one resume.
17. Watch forty to fifty Youtube videos about cats and World of Tanks and guys ranting about movies, most of which you’ve never seen.
18. Go to library.
19. Check out a book.
20. While at library, try not to get depressed looking at all the other people’s books that got published.
21. Go home.
22. Think about doing a blog post.
23. Fall asleep thinking about doing a blog post.
24. Eat dinner.
25. Look at emails, hoping for a job offer.
26. Play World of Tanks.
27. Watch Youtube cat video to make yourself feel better about the pummeling you just received on World of Tanks.
28. Look at emails, hoping for a job offer.
29. Go to bed.

“I’m not complaining…they’re very nice—in a buck-toothed sort of way.”

“You are laughing….”

“At the orchids, just the orchids.”

“Okay…so you really like them?”

“Yes, I do. What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion. It’s just, I’ve, you know, never given you flowers. Thought I might.”

“Hmm…a man gives a woman flowers, there’s usually some sort of occasion. Or he’s got something on his mind.”

“Why should I have anything on my mind? What gives you the impression I have something on my mind?”

“Weelll…the economy has collapsed, the country is in revolution, a mutated plague is sweeping across Asia, and heavily-armed aliens have landed and claimed Earth for their own, and the one thing you think of is to bring me flowers? At 3:42 AM?”

“Little did they know when the photographer took their picture that they would find themselves trapped in a painting.”

Well, I followed the prompt for the most part, but I completely blew away the word count limit, so I won’t be adding my link to Barbara’s page. As usual, I’m not sure this works, but I’ll go with it for now.

Copyright 2015 Douglas Daniel
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Little did they know when the photographer took their picture that they would find themselves trapped in a painting. The photographer was a Derinti cross-dimensional Preserver in disguise. He was so taken with their performance that he felt compelled, in the whimsical way of his race, to preserve it, and the performers.

In doing so, he created the first immortals of the human species—Jimmy, Blake, Lawrence and Steve. The living image in which the four found themselves was now a part of the back wall of the First Mercantile Bank. In this state they knew neither age nor decay. They merely played on and on, and anyone who had the ears to hear could detect their sweet brand of jazz, and, for a moment, feel their hearts lift.

The four musicians saw the building up of the city, in the years of the Great Warming, with massive towers two and three miles high rising to blot out the sun. They saw the towers fall into ruin, during the dark years that followed, and witnessed the savagery of men and women who had forgotten their heritage.

They saw the rise of the New Men, and glimpsed their silver ships rising into the sky as they abandoned the Earth forever.

They saw the return of the ice, and the long frozen wildness that embraced the forgotten husk of the city. They played on when only strange, mutated beasts in their dens of ice were there to hear them.

They beheld the rise of the seas, and for millennia played only for the sea beasts, the great porpoise-whales, the sapient squid and the terrible thalassadonts.

They were buried in sediment, and for ages played on for the secret beings of the deepest earth.

The sediment hardened into rock; in the fullness of time, as the seas receded, and erosion wore away at the rock, they saw the sun once more. The ice returned, encasing the world in glittering armor, and then melted again as the Sun flared and scorched the Earth.

They saw the Sun return to its quiet, ordinary ways, and the Earth grow green once more.

They saw the rise of the Silenidons, who heard their music and worshipped them for millennia. They found this distressing, as Jimmy and Blake were Catholic, Lawrence was a Presbyterian, and Steve, the tuba player, did not believe in God at all. They could do nothing, however, but continue playing. The four saw the Silenidons rise to mastery over the Earth, achieve great heights of intellect, and then fall into war with themselves. Rites of blood were performed before the ruined wall of the First Mercantile Bank, while the four played on. They played on while the Silenidons faded and dwindled away, until there was nothing left but their empty halls.

The four saw more inundations, more burials, the rise of mountains and the delving of seas, more ice and flaring sun, over and over across periods and eras and eons.

At last, they saw the Sun, swollen and dying, rising on the last day over the worn-out and weary Earth, and they played for it. They thought, perhaps, this would be the end, at last.

It was then, following up on a review of the files of the Preserver Corps, a Derinti scout appeared. He beheld the shattered remnant of the back wall of the First Mercantile Bank, saw the faded images of the four musicians, heard their music, and said, “Oh, dear,” which is a very loose translation of the Derintinese, and in no way, shape or form captures the profound dismay of the original.

Even as the bloated Sun reached out tendrils of fire to engulf the Earth, the scout erected a temporal realignment-decoder. With swift commands to his machine, he lifted the four from the wall and transported them back to the sidewalk on which they had been playing, on that one summer day, mere moments after the Preserver had departed, feeling pleased with himself.

For several minutes the four of them stood there, not speaking, not meeting each other’s eyes, while pedestrians streamed around them and traffic passed by. Then, still not speaking, they packed away their instruments and left, each their several ways.

Lawrence caught the Number Five bus across town, to the quiet street where his house stood. He went in, and put his trumpet case down inside the door.

“Lawrence? Is that you?” Millie peeked into the living room from the kitchen. Her apron was stretched over her bulging belly. “Your timing is good—I’m just starting dinner.”

Lawrence went over to her. He peered into her puzzled face for a moment; then he went down to his knees. He embraced her, ignoring her startled protest. He put his ear to her abdomen, listening for the heartbeat of their unborn child.